


The Lonely Soldier

by PrincessBethoc



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: After part 3, One Shot, Random & Short, Zelda has issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:09:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23386399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessBethoc/pseuds/PrincessBethoc
Summary: "Go ahead and put your brave face on; you already put down your fear; lonely soldier, all your troops have disappeared; but somebody has to stay right here." ~ 'The Lonely Soldier' (Nine Year Sister)'No man’s land stretched out before her. Untouched, ready for the taking. But she knew better than to advance, for whatever waited there for her lurked unseen, in places she could never have imagined those monsters to be.'
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	The Lonely Soldier

There were still nights Zelda Spellman stared into the depths of the bedroom walls. Sometimes she went outside to stare into the sky, or to the kitchen to stare into the wooden table. Right now, it was four in the morning, and she watched the tap drip into the sink. Drip. Drip. Drip. Clanging against the metal. The only sound in this kitchen.

She had the things she wanted. She had her family back. She had her coven. She had Marie.

It was not enough.

So selfish was she that she wanted more. She wanted everything to be as it was. Freedom from death and torment, and from the ghouls who had established outposts in her head. War raged on up there, between the now and the past, between hope and despair. It never seemed to matter what happened in reality, for her mind never got to hear about it. She was the only soldier here.

No man’s land stretched out before her. Untouched, ready for the taking. But she knew better than to advance, for whatever waited there for her lurked unseen, in places she could never have imagined those monsters to be. They would hide in the flutters of affection Marie might show her. They would taint conversations with her sister. They would put miles between her and her niece and nephew.

And those people she loved, they were willing to venture into no man’s land, with varying degrees of caution. Someone had to stay behind the line, waiting to tend to the wounded. She was safe here, and they needed her to be safe. Maybe it was just an excuse; she did not want to suffer anymore, and if she followed them out there, she would surely end up in pain. Her breath caught in her throat at the very memory of the agony she had met out in the battlefields before she had retreated to her bunker.

They ran at life, but they knew not where they ran. They charged without certainty, and she could not do that anymore. How could she survive it? Weak as it might make her, Zelda knew her days on the frontline were over. Another break in her heart could kill her.

Loneliness, though, came in many forms. She had her family, her lover, but still she was alone. They were out on the front, gaining and losing ground for themselves. People she loved had a way of disappearing. She had almost become used to seeing them off to war torn places, knowing their hearts might never come back to her whole. That wasn’t to say that she was never tempted to follow them out into the fray – she often lifted her head above the parapet, but was always reminded why she must stay here.

There was no point in going out there to chase the perfection she could never attain. All it brought her was anguish and disappointment.

Rather than get herself shot down, she remained alone in the trenches. Here she awaited those she loved most. A veteran of the infantry. Who else would know how to heal the wounded and comfort the traumatised? She was the one who had to be right here. She had already known the fear they would soon find, and she had the bravest face she had ever seen; it was one of the few of her own traits Zelda Spellman really did treasure, for it saved everyone she loved a great deal of misery.

She got to her feet and turned off the tap. The battleground was completely silent. This was her post. Her mission. She was a lonely soldier, the leader of an army deployed in the wastelands. Some of them might not return to her. Some would return wounded. That was why she stayed and held the line.

Zelda had done her fighting. She had been the cannon fodder, and she had survived. Now it was her job to await those for whom she had fought, for whom her heart would always beat, and help them survive, too.


End file.
